After falling to 2-11 with a 106-89 loss in Miami on Monday, the Sixers held a post-game team meeting, head coach Nick Nurse admitted to reporters, including Gina Mizell of The Philadelphia Inquirer. Nurse and the Sixers weren’t available to speak to the media until more than an hour after the game ended.
According to Shams Charania of ESPN, veteran point guard Kyle Lowry initiated the meeting, which sources described to ESPN as a “much-needed heart-to-heart and a call to action and urgency.” Nurse referred to the meeting as player- and coach-driven and Charania’s report states that both players and coaches “held each other accountable” and took responsibility for the 76ers’ poor start this fall.
Fifth-year guard Tyrese Maxey – whose leadership is highly valued within the organization, per Charania – called out star center Joel Embiid during the meeting, sources tell ESPN. Maxey reportedly challenged Embiid to make an effort to show up on time for team activities, suggesting that the big man’s tendency to be late “for everything” has a negative ripple effect on the rest of the locker room.
“Tyrese loves Big Fella’, but this is the elephant in the room,” a source told Charania, who says Maxey and Embiid are close friends and are comfortable holding one another accountable.
Here’s more on the Sixers and Monday’s post-game meeting:
- While Embiid was accepting of the messages conveyed to him in the meeting, sources tell Charania that the former MVP is sometimes confused about what the 76ers are attempting to execute on the court.
- Sixers players told Nurse that they want to be coached harder, while the coaches indicated to the players that they want them to practice with more “purpose and attention to detail,” Charania writes.
- Sources tell ESPN that Maxey, who has been out since November 6 due to a hamstring strain, is expected to return to action at some point this week — that will likely happen on Wednesday (in Memphis) or Friday (vs. Brooklyn). Assuming Embiid and Paul George are available, Maxey’s return will mark the first time that Philadelphia’s new “big three” have played together this season.
- Embiid, who played through an illness on Monday after initially being listed as doubtful, had expressed coming into this season that his goal was to “empower” his teammates rather than looking to dominate games himself. However, he admitted after Monday’s loss that he may need to be more assertive, given the early-season hole the team has dug itself. “The next couple games, I’m probably going to try to be more aggressive, as far as doing more,” Embiid said, per Mizell. “… It’s all about finding the right balance of it: when to be aggressive, when to set up guys, and when to let everybody do their thing.”
Sounds like the coach is losing leadership if they want to be coached harder. Embiid sounds like the downfall of the team. Yes he is a great player when he plays but needs to be the man that shows examples to other players by playing hard all the time.
who didn’t see Paul George signing being a dud? George shouldnt be a primary ball handler. 76ers are rutterless and don’t play as a team. Every year they get worse and worse.
Never saw this coming…
Good for Maxey to call out Embiid. When you are the face of a NBA franchise, it is your job and obligation to appear and do the little things right prior to the games. Showing up late consistently on Embiid is a bad look. I’m glad Maxey didn’t back down from it.
This team is looking more and more like the early 2010 Eagles with that Vince Young and everyone else free agency spree and have a season to forget in 2011.
Back to the Process………….soon
Maxey reportedly challenged Embiid to make an effort to show up on time for team activities, suggesting that the big man’s tendency to be late “for everything” has a negative ripple effect on the rest of the locker room.
The above is the Head Coach’s fault, what is Nick Nurse doing?
This 76er team is a complete dumpster fire!!!
So I guess it was Larry Brown’s fault that Allen Iverson was late for everything? Can’t coach someone who won’t listen.
No way!! it wasnt MY fault!
@EonADS
Larry Brown was a good coach
Larry Brown got to the Championship with the 76ers
What has Nick Nurse accomplished with the Sixers, other than turning them into a Dumpster Fire!!!
Nick Nurse *won* a championship with a team that had objectively less top-level talent than this team. It’s more on the players than the coach. Not Nurse’s fault Embiid has missed more games than he’s played since Nurse signed with the team.
Nick Nurse won with…hold onto your hats…strength in numbers
ffs, touch grass, Davey. Your bias is turning into a Gollum-level obsession.
“While Embiid was accepting of the messages conveyed to him in the meeting, sources tell Charania that the former MVP is sometimes confused about what the 76ers are attempting to execute on the court.”
They’re having trouble executing because the team is built around you and your co-stars, and you haven’t been there. There’s nothing to be confused about. Nobody got to practice the proper setup during pre-season because you sat out the whole thing.
This is why I value Tim Duncan. He knew he was the franchise player and everything goes thru him on both sides of the court, but he allowed Pop to coach him even when he messed up or wasn’t performing at his MVP level. He was a coach’s dream player.
Embiid is 1/10th of the player Duncan is in terms of intangibles and leadership qualities.
I don’t think Embiid is lazy or incapable of learning. He’s certainly improved a lot from his early days in the league, so he’s not like Ben Simmons. But I do think he’s *stubborn* and difficult to teach outside of his individual skills. He’s very much a “me first” type of player and has a distinct lack of self-awareness that shines through in his interviews, even if he’s more open off the court. That lack makes him difficult to integrate into a system that isn’t built around him, and also means that if he’s not around while a system is being built, whether because of injury, surgery, or load management, the system is built on a fractured foundation at best. It’s not entirely his fault, but he certainly could do a better job of being a good teammate and leader.
It’s compounded by the lack of depth on this roster, as well as the injuries to his co-stars. But it all starts with Embiid. That means it also *stops* with him, too.
Embiid is the poster child of a player who has never been held accountable by an organization. He does what he wants and has since day 1
Giving him MVP was the worst choice of all time. He might be the worst MVP ever. No rings and plays like half a season every year. Why devalue the award like that?
Remember when all of you simped for Embiid saying Harden was the problem for wanting off of this trainwreck
Perhaps Joel Embiid, a native of the Cameroon, should have rested his body instead of playing for the USA Olympic team this summer. Sixers are the ones writing the checks, not Team USA.
If you first set foot in the USA at age 16 and now are age 30, you havent even spent half your life here. Should have never been allowed to happen even if he is a citizen. He took a spot from a born and bred American. Not ideal.